Many return from Iraq and Afghanistan and have a hard time landing a job, but others are successful and give fellow vets a leg up.

Marcel Rowley

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Then: Army specialist in Afghanistan, 2006-2007

Now: College student

After Marcel Rowley served a tour in Afghanistan, he had a tough time finding work at home. He went back to California in 2007 and became a security guard for half the pay he made as an Army specialist. He says he quit because they wouldn't give him any credit for his certification as an emergency medical technician.

Then he became a waiter and a bartender, but couldn't stomach the disrespect from some of the customers. "It took a lot of self control," he said.

Rowley is currently unemployed, but he's studying wilderness education at South Lake Tahoe Community College on the GI Bill. He plans to become self-employed. "What I want to do is teach wilderness survival," he said. "There are all kinds of people who want to enjoy the woods but don't know how."